ACLU-NC & Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area v. U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement

June 2, 2008

ACLU of Northern California and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR) of the San Francisco Bay Area filed a lawsuit on June 2, 2008, to compel U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to comply with a request for documents under the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). The FOIA request stems from concerns over alleged violations of law and due process during immigration raids in Northern California since May 2006.

The ACLU-NC, LCCR, and the San Francisco Bay Guardian first requested documents from ICE in March 2007, during an active period of residential immigration raids in the San Francisco Bay Area.  Despite repeated assurances from ICE staff, the agency has failed to provide any records in response to the request.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco, seeks to compel ICE to release 13 classes of documents, including financial records related to the costs of the raids, communications between ICE and local law enforcement regarding the enforcement actions, statistics pertaining to the scope and results of the raids, and documents pertaining to potentially abusive practices. 

The alleged abuses include racial profiling, questioning children and conducting raids near schools, entering residences without a warrant, and misidentifying ICE agents as local police officers. The original FOIA request pertains to all civil immigration enforcement actions conducted by ICE in Alameda, Contra Costa, Fresno, Marin, Napa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano, Sonoma, and Tulare counties since May 2006. 

LEGAL DOCUMENTS
Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (June 2, 2008)

FOIA Request (March 6, 2008)